At the Domaine d’Esthine, the Cotentin donkeys (Equus asinus) are pampered and gently trained. Naturally quiet, this donkey’s colour is dove-grey with a brown St Andrew cross on its back. It is said that the Virgin Mary had thanked its ancestors for carrying her and for the protection against the devil its cross provided. Brigitte Pieau, the owner of the farm, is above all trying to change the bad reputation that donkeys have had for centuries: “They are intelligent and only get into trouble if they are mistreated”.